Mu Shu Chicken and Plum Sauce

When I made the maple pork loin, I planned to have leftovers to make the Pork and Mushroom Wraps that I was linked to on Fine Cooking's site.  Mark gobbled up all the left over pork for lunch before I found an evening at home to make them.  I was left with cabbage and mushrooms that needed to be eaten, so when planning the weeks meals I purchased half a boneless chicken breast, roasted it the night before and made this for dinner when I got home from work.  This made dinner for the 2 with leftovers for another meal, hopefully!

Mu Shu Chicken

Ingredients:

3 cups of thinly sliced cabbage

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup of cooked chicken breast cut match-stick size

3 scallions trimmed, white and light green part thinly sliced, green part cut in 2 inch slivers (keep separate)

about 2 cups of mushrooms, stemmed and  thinly sliced, I used both shiitake and cremini

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon of minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

4 flour tortillas

1 /4 cup Plum Sauce or Hoisin Sauce for serving

Directions:

Place the sliced cabbage in a colander over the sink and toss with 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Pat dry.

In a small bowl, combine the 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce with soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar.  Set aside.

In a 12-inch heavy duty nonstick skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil over medium het until shimmering.  Add the chicken (optional:  sprinlkle with salt) and cook stirring until it starts to brown around the edges, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to a large plate.

Add 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining oil to the pan and once it is shimmering, add the scallion whites and the mushrooms, cook stirring occasionally, until they brown and soften, 2 to 3 minutes.  Push the mushroom mixture to one side of the pan and add the egg.  Cook, scrambling and breaking up with a wooden spoon or spatula into small pieces,  until just set, about 1 minute.  Transfer to the plate with the chicken.

Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to pan, once it's hot, add the scallion greens, cabbage, ginger, and garlic (optional:  sprinkle with salt).  Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add the reserved hoisin sauce mixture and the chicken mixture to the  to the cabbage and stir to distribute the sauce.  Cook, stirring for 1 minute to meld flavors.

You can use purchased plum sauce or hoisin sauce.  Here's my favorite recipe for plum sauce if you want to make your own:

To serve: 

Place one 1 tablespoon of plum sauce (or hoisin sauce) down the center of a heated flour tortilla.  Arrange a generous amount of chicken mixture over the sauce and wrap the tortilla, burrito-style.

Adapted by Carol from Fine Cooking

Plum Sauce

Ingredients:

12 ounces plum jam

2 cloves garlic

1 Tablespoon dry mustard

2 slices ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon dry)

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

Directions:

Mix in food processor until smooth, store in refrigerator.

Thanks to Audrey Bashaw of Riverside, CA in the early 80's.

Hamburger Buns

 Saturday we ventured into the big city and went to Ikea in Emeryville.  Between the drive and the layout of the store that's an all day trip.  We ventured to a shopping area next door, with all the usual mall shops, that's part of the old town that had been redeveloped into stores with living space above.  The restaurants in the shopping area were the usual chains, PF Chang, Wahoo's, and Coldstone.  We decided to give a The Elephant Bar a try.  Their menu was quite varied and the burgers looked so good that I decided that it was time to have burgers at home, even if it was still too damp to grill them.

I decided to make my own buns so that I wouldn't throw away the 6 we don't use!  I made the recipe into 7 smallish buns and 4 hot dog buns.  The buns were a tad small once I got the burgers together, but more than enough bread for me.  Next time I'll make a smaller burger.  I'm hoping they'll freeze well.  Good bye store bought buns!


 Hamburger Buns

1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 packets or 1 scant tablespoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)  (I warmed water and milk in the microwave and let them cool)
1 cups warm milk (105°F to 115°F)
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoons salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
sesame, poppy or caraway seeds or coarse salt (optional)

*We give you this fairly wide variation for a couple of reasons. First, you'll find in the summer that you'll need a bit more flour to absorb a given amount of liquid than you will in the winter. This is because it's humid and flour acts somewhat like a slightly dampened sponge as a result.

Second, this particular dough should be quite slack, i.e., very relaxed in order to make soft and tender buns. So you want to add only enough more flour, past the 3-cup point, to make the dough just kneadable; sprinkling only enough more to keep it from sticking to you or the board.

Mixing: In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar and then the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, oil, salt and 2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.

Kneading: 

Knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Because this dough is so slack, you may find that a bowl scraper or bench knife can be helpful in scooping up the dough and folding it over on itself.  I didn't have to knead a lot, the mixer did most of it.

Rising: 

Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly-woven dampened towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour.

Shaping: 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide into 9 equal pieces. This is done most easily by dividing the dough first into thirds, then those thirds into thirds, then the halves into thirds.

Shape each piece into a ball. For hamburger buns, flatten the balls into 3 1/2-inch disks. For hot-dog buns, roll the balls into cylinders, 4 1/2-inches in length. Flatten the cylinders slightly; dough rises more in the center so this will give a gently rounded top versus a high top.

For soft-sided buns, place them on a well-seasoned baking sheet a half inch apart so they'll grow together when they rise. For crisper buns, place them three inches apart.

Second Rising: Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. 

Baking:
Fifteen minutes before you want to bake your buns, preheat your oven to 400°F. Just before baking, lightly brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash and sprinkle with whatever seeds strike your fancy.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190°F. (A dough thermometer takes the guesswork out of this.)

When the buns are done, remove them from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.

Adapted from King Arthur Flour by Carol 

I love the idea of a Sunday night dinner that can then easily be made into something else later in the week.  I bought a pork loin roast with the idea of stuffing it and roasting it until I ran across this recipe in Fine Cooking for a brined pork loin served on a nest of fennel and apple.  Besides being easy it was delicious.  Later in the week I'll use the leftover roast for Mu Shu.  I had a roast that was a little over 2 pounds so I meant to cut the recipe in half and forgot!  Seemed to still be the right amount of every thing.  This made more than enough for the 2 of us, leftovers for lunch and another dinner.

Roast Pork with Maple Mustard Crust

Serves 4

For the Brine:
8 cups cold apple cider or juice
3/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme
One 4-lb. boneless pork loin roast (or two 2-lb. loins), trimmed only if it has a thick layer of fat

For The Roast:
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbs. whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more to taste
1 large fennel bulb or 2 small bulbs, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

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Brine the pork: Combine 2 cups of the apple cider or juice with the salt, brown sugar, garlic, and thyme in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring so the salt and sugar dissolve, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining apple cider or juice and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a large container, add the pork, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 18 hours.

Roast the pork: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F. In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, mustard, thyme, and pepper. Drain the pork and pat dry with paper towels. Brush the pork all over with the mustard mixture.
In a medium bowl, toss the fennel and apple with the oil, salt, and a few generous grinds of pepper. Scatter the mixture in the bottom of a large roasting pan (large enough to hold the pork with a couple of inches of space around the perimeter). Put the pork, fat side up, on top of the fennel and apples. Roast the pork until the crust just starts to brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the loin registers 145°F, 30 to 50 minutes more.
Let rest for 10 minutes and then thinly slice a quarter to a third of the pork. Serve, topped with the fennel, apple, and juices. Allow the remaining pork to cool to room temperature, wrap well with foil, and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Source:  Fine Cooking

Part of my Christmas Tradition is to make plate fulls of cookies and candies to share with my neighbors, friends and family.  My neighbor Sara returned the gift in the form of cream of onion soup and bread on that was in my kitchen when I arrived home from work on Monday.  I couldn't return the dish empty so that gave me an excuse to try a decadent sounding brownie I found on Annie's Eats.  I'm not a big brownie fan, these could change that!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Yield: 30-36 brownies

Ingredients:
For the brownies:
14 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup cocoa powder 
2 cups sugar
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the peanut butter cheesecake swirl:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tbsp. sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  To make the brownie batter, combine the butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.  Remove the bowl from the heat.  Whisk in the cocoa powder, sugar, eggs and cream cheese until smooth and well blended.  Mix in the vanilla and salt.  Add the flour to the bowl and whisk just until incorporated.  Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula.

To make the peanut butter cheesecake portion, combine the cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until completely smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the egg and vanilla until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Drop spoonfuls of the peanut butter mixture over the brownie batter in the pan, creating a cobblestone appearance.  Use a knife or wooden skewer to gently swirl together the peanut butter mixture and brownie batter.  Bake 30-35 minutes, until the center is just set.

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate until well chilled before slicing and serving.

Source:  Annie's Eats

I am always searching for the perfect beans, or perfect rice side dish to go with Mexican dishes.  This recipe from Fine Cooking combines the two in a very satisfying side dish.  I served it with my own adaptation of Benchiladas from Annie's Eats Blog.  I think they'd make a great one dish meal with the addition of some chorizo.  I used diced tomatoes with jalapeños and skipped the jalapeño.  Next time I'll probably add chopped jalepeno too, it could have had a little more spice.  I also substituted about 1 tablespoon of dried oregano for the fresh.

Mexican Tomato Rice and Beans

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked medium-grain white rice

1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes (preferably “petite-cut”)
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
6 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium fresh jalapeño, cored and finely chopped (if you like spicy foods, leave in the ribs and seeds; if not, remove them)
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp. kosher or fine sea salt
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh oregano leaves and tender stems
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems

---

Directions:
In a 1-quart saucepan, combine the rice with 2 cups cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20 min. Remove from the heat and let the pan stand, covered, for another 5 min.
While the rice steams, set a fine sieve in a bowl and drain the can of tomatoes. Pour the tomato juices into a 1-cup liquid measure. Add enough water to the tomato juices to equal 1 cup.

Heat a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in the oil and stir-fry the garlic and jalapeño until the garlic browns and the jalapeño smells pungent, about 1 min. Add the black beans, salt, cumin, and chili powder; stir two to three times to incorporate the mixture and cook the spices, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato juice and water mixture and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans absorb much of the liquid, 5 to 7 min. Add the tomatoes, oregano, cilantro, and cooked rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is warm, 1 to 2 min. Serve immediately.

Spinoccoli Pizza

As I stated when I began this blog, I was inspired by Annie's Eats to write about what I'm cooking  as a record for myself, and an easy way to share recipes with friends and family.  I was surprised to find home made pizza on Annie's list of easy dinners, it's easy when Papa Murphy does it, but all that dough preparation easy?  I looked at her recipe, which reminded me of the recipe that I used when I was not working and had lots of time to cook by Jeff Smith in The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian.  I had two of his books and used them often when Kaci was a baby.  I was intrigued to try Annie's method for prepping the dough ahead and freezing it.  I also love white sauce on pizza rather than tomato based sauce and am trying to make as many meat free meals a week as I can, so this pizza fits the bill.

I removed the pizza dough from the freezer in the morning and it was ready to go when I arrived home.  The recipe was on the table in an hour and was the best pizza I've had in ages.  The texture and flavor of the dough was marvelous.  I was concerned that making a white sauce would be a pain, but it went together easily while the pizza dough sat out to rest.  No more Papa Murphy's Pizza or TJ's dough for us, this is just too good.  Can't wait to try other versions on this pizza, and I still have enough for 1 pizza in the freezer!

Check out Annie's Eats for step by step directions for the dough.

Basic Pizza Dough

Yield: enough dough for 2 medium pizzas or 4 calzones

Ingredients:

½ cup warm water

2¼ tsp. instant yeast

4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting

1½ tsp. salt

1¼ cup water, at room temperature

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend.  Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture.  With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil.  Mix until a cohesive dough is formed.  Switch to the dough hook.  Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball.  (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.)  Cover with a damp cloth.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.  Shape the dough with lightly floured hands.  Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil.  Top as desired.  Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Spinoccoli Pizza

Ingredients:

For the white sauce:

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

¾ cup heavy cream or half-and-half

1 clove garlic, smashed

Salt and pepper, to taste

6 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the pizza:

Pizza Dough

Olive oil, for brushing

½ cup packed baby spinach leaves, torn

1 cup very small broccoli florets

2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Grated Parmesan

Directions:

To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until bubbling and light golden, about 1 minute.  Whisk in the heavy cream and garlic, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and bubbles.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the grated Parmesan until completely melted and smooth.  Discard the garlic clove.  (Note: This will make a bit more sauce than you need for the pizza, but with a little extra cheese it makes a great dipping sauce for crust.)

To make the pizza, preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round.  Lightly brush the perimeter of the dough with olive oil.  Spread a thin layer of the white sauce over the crust, leaving a border clear around the edge for the crust.  Sprinkle the torn spinach leaves over the white sauce.  Evenly distribute the broccoli florets over the dough.  Layer evenly with the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.  Finish with additional grated Parmesan, if desired.  Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Source:  Annie's Eats

I purchased a small spiral sliced ham to take down to Orange County after Christmas and fix for Rob and forgot to take it with us!  Decided I needed to use it as a base for meals this week.  

I had never had a ham loaf until at Christmas Dinner prepared by my mother-in-law  Jane about 30 years ago, she served "Ham Loaf".  It was basically the meatloaf recipe off the Quaker Oat carton with ham rather than pork.  Nothing memorable.  Never having the desire to replicate it at home ham loaf was not part of our diet, until I clipped this recipe from a copy of Bon Apetit in the late 90's.  I found it to be yummy comfort food.  Trying to eat as heart healthy as we can its something I only make once a year, if that often.  I use the leanest pork sausage Jimmy Dean makes, red pepper and cut the recipe in half which makes 2 dinners and left overs for lunch for us.  A friend served a corn pudding a few months ago, her secret recipe.  I think I'll try one on Allrecipes.com and add green chili's and some cheddar cheese as a side to the ham loaf. 

 

Pork and Ham Loaf with Marmalade-Mustard Glaze

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 pound finely chopped smoked ham (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool mixture completely.

Mix ground pork, ham, crushed crackers, milk, eggs, pepper, salt and cooled onion mixture in large bowl; combine thoroughly. Transfer pork mixture to shallow baking pan. Shape into 9x4x2 1/2-inch loaf. Using long knife, make shallow crisscross (diamond) pattern in top of loaf. Bake loaf 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, blend orange marmalade, Dijon mustard and brown sugar in small bowl for glaze.

Drizzle 1/3 cup glaze over loaf; bake 15 minutes. Drizzle another 1/3 cup glaze over loaf; bake 15 minutes. Drizzle remaining glaze over loaf and bake until thermometer inserted into center of loaf registers 165°F, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer loaf to platter; let stand 10 minutes. Pour pan juices into small bowl; whisk to blend.

Cut loaf crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with pan juices.

Source:  Bon Appétit  | February 1998